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The official thread of pointless innovations

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tegirinenashi
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The official thread of pointless innovations

Postby tegirinenashi » Thu Jan 26, 2017 6:48 pm

I think the title is self-describing -- it is the ultimate anti-review thread. Review of features that must go, not the whole product. Here is my list:

1. Supersized inflation valves

2. Self-rescue handles

3. Black canopy/strut color

4. Sharp hydrofoil wing/mast leading edge, fuselage nose

5. Spider bridle

I think only #5 needs clarifying. I'm suspicious of the idea that more than 3 bridle lines meeting at a single point is optimal. For example, this footage

https://vimeo.com/197828825

from 20 sec and on, provides a very good view of the 5 lines meeting at the upper part of "spider web". It is clearly noticeable that the left most line is not fully tensioned and hangs a little, at times.
Last edited by tegirinenashi on Fri Jan 27, 2017 1:23 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: An official thread of pointless innovations

Postby kas911 » Thu Jan 26, 2017 7:09 pm

And you start the thread with a wonderful invention :-?

Board handle

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edt
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Re: An official thread of pointless innovations

Postby edt » Thu Jan 26, 2017 7:38 pm

supersize inflation is fantastic! I like black kites fine, but I don't live inside of a furnace like some of you, I guess it's bad because it gets too hot or something? Self rescue handles are super nice when you are on a C kite because you only have those 4 lines, no bridle to grab on to. I dunno what the spider bridle means. Is it when the bridle is too complicated? The handle is great if you are doing board flips and need to catch the board.

here's my list of pointless innovations. that 2:1 bar where you had pulleys that made the kite move twice as far as the bar, what a terrible design, the bar pressure was enormous and the kite nearly uncontrollable. the sigma shape (to get around the Legaignoux patent), it flew funny and looked funny thank goodness Naish finally gave in and went away from the sigma. The wind it up kite launching method. In this one you stood on the beach with a big loop of line wrapped around what I can only describe as a fishing pole reel and you launched your kite 2 feet in front of you and then reeled out the line and to finish a session you reeled it back it. Crazy times back then. I guess you could dial in whatever line length you wanted but the price was you were riding with the equivalent of a shark sized fishing tackle control bar. The famous pickle board. Here the idea is that the pickle board gave you better depower in case you know the kite overpowered you. Pickle boards are super cute those even though they sucked they are nice to look at and fun to ride. Kites more than 25 meters. Back in the day they figured bigger kites and bigger kites and so you had things like the Naish 30 meter kite. Ridiculous! Now we know you want something like the ozone chromos for light wind, foil, high aspect, a ton of power for about half the square meters. You could go downwind really good on that Naish 30 meter though. That's all I got for today. Oh wait one more. the leash to the back system for harnesses. Stupid. All harnesses need to leash on front as the default setting. That's just dangerous for no good reason.
Last edited by edt on Thu Jan 26, 2017 9:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: An official thread of pointless innovations

Postby Hugh2 » Thu Jan 26, 2017 8:36 pm

Cabrina's IDS or so-called Intelligent De-power System, which de-powers to the two front lines, leaving your kite pulling you, instead of a single front line, completely de-powering it. Anything but intelligent, and I still have it on my 2012 Vector. Can't for the life of me figure out a way to reconfigure it as single front line de-power, so instead sometimes put pigtails on the kook-proof bridle and use my Best bar on it if I think the wind is going to build and I may get into trouble on it.

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Re: An official thread of pointless innovations

Postby plummet » Thu Jan 26, 2017 8:43 pm

Wake style boots?

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Re: An official thread of pointless innovations

Postby TheJoe » Thu Jan 26, 2017 8:52 pm

plummet wrote:Wake style boots?
Don't you mean straps and pads? I remember seeing Lou wearing them way back when he was cutting down boards and basically creating freestyle.

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Re: An official thread of pointless innovations

Postby tegirinenashi » Thu Jan 26, 2017 9:18 pm

"Existing features that need to be invented back" -- is better description of the thread purpose. While Naish sigma was an oddity that greatly diminished reputation of this brand in my view (I owned 3 their C kites), sigma shape is dead for a while now.

Here is one more candidate, Airush:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afvLl5p8eOs
Ok reinforcing canopy might be a sound idea, but in this particular execution I can't suppress a feeling that their kite designer had a rough night before. Those reinforcement strings are thrown at random, and apparently nobody thought that perhaps if placing them judiciously it would require less of them, and therefore less extra weight. Actually, previous year models featured much more regular pattern. Apparently, they were compelled to do something "different" next year.

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Re: An official thread of pointless innovations

Postby plummet » Thu Jan 26, 2017 9:49 pm

Board leashes.
back of harness safety leashes.

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Re: An official thread of pointless innovations

Postby dylan* » Thu Jan 26, 2017 10:18 pm

so many troll posts on this forum lately

are people that bored

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Re: An official thread of pointless innovations

Postby longwhitecloud » Thu Jan 26, 2017 10:29 pm

this sums up kiting perfectly in 2017 :-0

look back to 1999 - 2005

so many action pics - so few marketing technical "innovations" in media advertising

kiteboard marketing today is mostly designed towards the affluent middle aged customer - so called "innovation" is king.

I hear it at the beach and I am like - do you seriously think the problem with your progression is your kit?! lol

adjustable winding bar - wtf?!

It's a great example of how you can tell a customer something through marketing and control their mind.


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